648: What Vulnerable Leadership Sounds Like, with Jacob Morgan

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Oct 2, 2023

Jacob Morgan, a trained futurist and bestselling author, delves into the crucial concept of vulnerable leadership. He discusses how authentic vulnerability can bolster leadership effectiveness and positively shape workplace culture. Through personal anecdotes, he explores the challenges leaders face when attempting to connect emotionally with their teams. The conversation emphasizes that true leadership blends vulnerability with proactive strategies to build trust and resilience, showcasing real-life examples of how sharing personal experiences can foster deeper connections at work.

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ANECDOTE

Panic Attacks and Vulnerability

Jacob Morgan, despite being a leadership expert, initially struggled with vulnerability.
After signing a book contract about vulnerability, he experienced panic attacks due to his upbringing and discomfort with the topic.

INSIGHT

CEO Vulnerability Paradox

Many CEOs understand vulnerability's value but struggle to implement it practically.
They seek to reconcile the seeming conflict between appearing strong and competent while also being open about their struggles.

ANECDOTE

Vulnerability vs. Leading with Vulnerability

Continental Airlines CEO Hollis Harris showed vulnerability by asking employees to pray for the company's future, but it lacked leadership.
In contrast, Fleetwood Grobbler, CEO of Sasol, combined vulnerability with a vision and call to action, successfully leading through crisis.

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Jacob Morgan: Leading With Vulnerability

Jacob Morgan is a trained futurist and one of the world’s leading authorities on leadership, the future of work, and employee experience. He speaks in front of tens of thousands of people each year and his content is seen over a million times annually. He is the best-selling author of five books: The Future Leader, The Employee Experience Advantage, The Future of Work, and The Collaborative Organization. He speaks at over 50 conferences a year including TED Academy which is one of the largest TED events in the world.

Jacob provides advisory and thought leadership services to organizations around the world. He has created tons of educational videos and articles found at Great Leadership With Jacob Morgan and host of the Great Leadership with Jacob Morgan podcast. He’s the author of the new book, Leading With Vulnerability: How to Unlock Your Greatest Superpower to Transform Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization.

Most of us have heard that we should show vulnerability, but we don’t necessary know how to do this in the workplace. In addition, many leaders mistakenly show vulnerability without connecting it back to leadership. In this episode, Jacob and I explore where leaders go wrong, discuss how to do better, and demonstrate exactly what real vulnerability sounds like.

Key Points

Vulnerability + Leadership = Vulnerable Leadership. While this equation may seem obvious, many leaders mistakingly lean into vulnerability without also articulating leadership.
Vulnerability without leadership can land awkwardly and potentially calls to question your credibility as a leader.
Go beyond just admitting a mistake; share what was learned from that mistake. In the same way, talk about personal challenges for the purpose of connecting, creating trust, and relating to others.
Ask yourself this question as a starting point for ensuring you are also leading: “What’s my reason for sharing what I’m about to share?”
Vulnerability for leaders is not the same as it is for everybody else.

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